Rock's Dog-Fighting Comments Cost Him Pryor Role?
From: contactmusic.com The animal-loving widow of RICHARD PRYOR banned CHRIS ROCK from portraying the late comedy icon on the big screen after he made a joke about dog fighting, according to reports. The Head of State star was among thefrontrunners to land the main role in a new Pryor biopic, but he allegedly lost the part after jokingly defending shamed American football star Michael Vick, who recently served time for running an illegal dog-fighting ring.
During a recent appearance on U.S. TV's The Jay Leno Show, Rock said, 'What the hell did Michael Vick do? Pitbulls ain't (sic) even real dogs! Dogs have never been good to black people!'
The quip offended Pryor's wife Jennifer, who serves as the director of animal rescue group Pryor's Planet, and she made sure Rock's throwaway comments cost him the movie job.In an open letter to the star, Jennifer fumes:
'For your information, Chris, what Michael Vick did was to torture, drown, electrocute and murder dogs all for fun and for profit! He went to prison for felony animal cruelty! That's what he did!
These types of comments only encourage abuse and misunderstanding of this breed, as well as actual dog-fighting. Clearly this part of your latest stand-up routine would not make Richard laugh!'
Fellow funnyman Marlon Wayans is reported to have landed the coveted role in Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?, which is expected to hit cinemas in 2011. Pryor, who founded Pryor's Planet before his death, passed away in 2005 from a cardiac arrest, aged 65.
(See also: caring about pit bulls? that's "white stuff")
47 comments:
My brother died of complications of MS, so I was pretty up on Pryor's dealing with this disease. I remember she had pit bulls. Good for her! I've checked my checking account and I've got too much money sitting there, so I would like to make a donation to help a dog that otherwise would be passed over... a behavior issue like the Iowa dog or heartworm positive.
THAT IS AWESOME!!
And I had no idea Richard Pryor started anything like that!! That's great! I'll definitely have to check them out.
Thanks1
Finally Rock gets bitten (Oh ho ho, a pun...) in the arse due to his ignorance and immaturity on this subject, and I'm glad to see him facing some consequence over his actions! Thanks, Jennifer Pryor!
What splendid news! So glad to have Ms. Pryor on our side!!! And so glad to see karma bite the deserving.
Tip of the cap to Mrs Pryor
Mrs. Pryor Thank you so much for your stance on the comments made by Chris Rock. Someone needed to tell him that his humor regarding this issue was most definitely not humorous. Unfortunately, there are too many people in the world that think along his lines sadly..forgive and forget..don't punish a good football player..he's paid his dues. Vick can never adequately pay his dues for what he did. I, for one cannot forget..and am having a very tough time forgiving Mr. Vick.
Perhaps this will be a lesson for many to learn and thank you for giving it!
Fantastic news. Hooray for Mrs. Pryor and speaking out against the atrocities Vick visited on those dogs.
AWESOME news!!!! There is a light in the end of this tunnel...I will repet the same comment that I left @ FortheLoveoftheDog-blog;Because it's just LUDACRIS to hear this kind of thing.....that dogs don't like black people,therefore black people should not like dogs.Since I came to live here in the USA,9 years ago...I heard a lot of these type of comments coming from IGNORANT ans also VIOLENT African Americans.Is like Chris Rock=MAJOR LOSER and others like him,read from a book that teaches them to HATE animals,and believe that is white man's thing to care and love animals( specialy companion animals)The title of the book that certain blacks are reading is:" How to become an IGNORANT-STUPID A#@*&- VIOLENT black.I am BIRACIAL( mix of black and white) and that mentality is too STUPID to anyone to have.Animals were put on this plane to be LOVED by ALL people,despite of skin color,religion,whatever....That's why God created them....to be LOVED and PROTECTED by us-humans.And NOT the opposite.As far as I know this type of teaching that Chris Rock believes,have not arrived in Brazil( but Brazilians tend to copycat everything from the USA,even the WRONG/EVIL stuff).
I'm really suprised to find out that the widow of Richard Pryor has an Organization that saves the lifes of companion animals.KUDOS for her and GOD BLESS her.
I've always liked Richard Pryor,specialy working together with Gene Wider.What a pair...
You have got to love Jennifer Pryor for speaking her mind and calling Chris Rock to task on his outrageous comments. She got him where it counts! Bravo!!!
s&b/mty
Thank you bad rap for alerting us to this ignorant and lame moment for both Chris Rock and Jay Leno. And thank you also for including Leno's contact info--better believe I sent a comment. My best friend is a pit bull!
The truly sad part is (and always has been) when a person of great influence chooses to remain ignorant of the impact their actions and words have.
Love that she did this!! Kudos to her!!!!
Mrs. Pryor, You're my hero! I think your husband would be proud. My dogs, Casey and Zeus, and I thank you very much!!!!
Heck yes! Reading this really made my night.
He was so ignorant to say those things. RIGHT BACK AT YA CHRIS!!!
Gosh, and I bet that role he lost out on was priceless. Richard Pryor is hugely famous and a historical icon.
RIGHT BACK AT YA CHRIS!
haha! Nice!!
Hmm...I'm not so sure about this report. To my knowledge, Rock was never being considered to play Pryor, but has always been and still is the producer of the biopic.
http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=9695
over a month ago, Wayans was already set to replace Murphy as the star
However, if she did send that letter, that would be lovely.
This just made my Friday! Thanks for posting this Donna, I'd have never heard it buried in other news sources.
Thanks Jennifer Pryor!!
YES!!!!!!, that made my day. I read that Richard Pryor was his idol
I used to love Chris Rock, but he's and idiot. If he thought at all about what he said he'd realize that he told viewers that compassion, careing and empathy are "white things" and that abuse, and sociopathic behavior are "black things". I wonder if all the black vets, vet techs, ACOs, shelter volunteers and animal lovers would agree that compassion can be pre-judged by race.
thank you, Mrs. Pryor, for taking your stance on this maligned breed of sentient being. How I wish more public personalities would stand up and raise their voices like you did!!!!
Go Jennifer (Mrs. Pryor). We and the animals love you. You are awesome. We need more people like you -- who stand up for what you believe (really take a stand) and are an advocate for innocent lives. We love you!
Somebody's gotta defend Chris Rock here... as a comedian I am pretty sure that Chris Rock wasn't defending animal torture but simply making a joke about how in the past dogs were used to torture people... and thus he wasn't insulting dogs (who would've had no free will in the matter) but slave owners who used dogs in furtherance of their evil.
Two thumbs up for Jennifer Pryor!
I was appalled when I heard Chris Rock's statement on TV and wrote the station to say so. I am thrilled that Chris Rock's ignorant, biased and discriminating statement has come back on him. Very well done Mrs. Pryor. I will make sure I see the movie.
Pit Bulls are my heart and wonderful pay buddies to my kids....so happy to hear someone is taking a stand for them
> he wasn't insulting dogs (who would've had no free will in the matter) but slave owners who used dogs in furtherance of their evil.
...Not sure I follow you Shaun.
So the joke is, now a black man is torturing dogs since dogs were once used to torture black people?
hah hah?
Shaun... you fail to mention the "funny" part where he said "pit bulls ain't even real dogs" and that caring about pit bulls/dogs is a "white thing". He overall stated that caring about dogs is stupid and that caring about pit bulls is even more stupid because they "ain't even real". Sorry... disgusted.
Love this! Just love it.....
I saw this on Jay Leno and was nauseated, his comments were so insensitive and under informed. I thought it would go unnoticed, as much of the Vick controversy is, but I am so happy to hear that there are powerful women out there who aren't afraid to stand up for the creatures they love.
My pit bull is my absolute best friend, we do everything together-- and we bring a lot of happiness to those we meet, in schools, hospitals, hallways, the street-- where ever he goes he makes sure people know: not all pit bulls are mean. (Then we start working them on how the majority AREN'T!)
Way to go Mrs. Pryor! Wow! What an idiot! How can we beat the stigmatism these dogs have when there are guys like this out there making public statements about them. Chris Rock you disgust me! I have a pit mix and what she gives me is more then I could ever return. She is truly a gift as all these dogs are and I am grateful everyday I get to spend with her. I'm actually in the process of rescuing one right now. God love you Mrs.Pryor! Keep up the good fight. We are right there with you xoxo.
Yay Jennifer! I am glad Rock's ignorant comments are going to hit him in the pocket book. Maybe I will name my next pretty pittie after her...
Chris Rock is a Comedian which is the same as her husbands. Richard Pryor would not be famous if he was not allowed to speak his mind. In fact, if this would have happened to Richard Pryor, his wife would be just another woman on the street. I respect her cause and how she feels, but don't knock someone doing the same thing your husband made a living from.
Re Carissa and others:
I mentioned it in the previous thread about this, but I want to ask: considering a lot of people (including me) don't believe there is such a *breed* as a pit bull, but a catch all term used by a lot of folk, wouldn't it stand to reason that even Chris Rock just MAYBE has the same sentiment? That's the first impression I got when I read the "pit bulls ain't even real dogs" part.
Way to go Mrs. Pryor!! YOU are a role model for all of the world.
Thank you for posting this.Kudos to Ms Pryor
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/411/petition-to-stop-bet-from-airing-michaels-vicks-show
Awwwwsome! I hope Rock realizes now that it is bad karma to offend the memory of one of the most gifted comedians this country has known with cheap, insensitive attempts at "humor."
Okay, if he'd said something like "The guy's from Rhode Island, that's not even a real state" would you believe that the comedian actually thought that R.I. wasn't part of the U.S.? It was a silly comment, not something you should try to read into. And while I can appreciate that pit bulls get a bad rap as to their suitability as pets because people have abused them, that's not the issue here.
And no, I don't think Chris was saying that black men should torture dogs... just that they might not love dogs so much since during slavery and the civil rights battles dogs were used as instruments of torture.
If you have any more questions, ask him. I didn't say it.
I have seen Mrs. Pryor on the Dog Whisperer show and I thought that she was awesome in what she did for the dogs. I admired her a lot, and I admire her even more now! Given her name and celebrity, she is bound to make a positive impact for the dogs.
I just don't get that logic Shaun. Dogs have been used against people throughout human history -- look to Berlin's WWII use of german shepherds and rotties and more recently dogs used to torture in Guantanamo by US soldiers. Yes, it was a silly comment and yes, we're glad Mrs. Pryor plugged her nose in a public way. I don't care who's getting tortured, black men, jews, middle eastern people or the dogs themselves -- It's just not a good fodder for late night giggles.
rock and leno were obviously laughing about and making light of what happened to those poor dogs at moonlight rd. i mean it started with leno saying " a man loses his career and millions of dollars for mistreating a couple dogs" that alone was offensive and very insensitive of leno. i believe the insensitivity escalated from there. and chris rock didnt mean pit bull aint even real dogs as in "pit bulls is a slang term" i think he meant they are less than a dog like golden retrievers for instances.
the fact the neither he nor leno spoke out to clear it up tells me they just dont care about our beloved pitties. animal abuse should not be material for jokes any more than rape or child molestation should be.
Good 4 you, Jennifer! Richard is proud and is smiling down on you for defending innocent pit bulls! I was always fond of Jennifer! And Richard is and will always be my favorite comedian and animal rights activist! He'll always be admired by me & my family, and I can't wait to see the Chris Rock free movie!!! Btw, Jennifer spoke about her work on an episode of The Dog Whisperer!
After hearing of Chris Rocks comments I went out and sold all the dvd's of him that I had,and donated the money to a non kill pitbull shelter here in Mn. Thank you Jennifer- u r a true hero and so was richard.
That's so great. I hope it hit him where it hurts.
Way to go, Mrs. Pryor.
"wouldn't it stand to reason that even Chris Rock just MAYBE has the same sentiment? That's the first impression I got when I read the "pit bulls ain't even real dogs" part."
Doubtful, since 90% of Joe Q. Public does not understand the whole "pit bull" as a slang term for various breeds thing. I doubt that's what he meant, because if so he probably would know that it would be lost on most of the audience.
I'm 99.9% sure his intent was to imply that like another poster said, that they are "less than" other dogs.
LOL, OH Baby...ain't that KARMA a bitch!!! I love it...thank you Mrs. Pryor!!!!
Every now and then, we get to see a glimmer of justice. Thank you, Jennifer, for helping that wheel turn. My husband has MS, so I know how difficult that part of your life has been. For you to take the time to care about the animals is wonderful. Pryors Planet is now on my list of animal donations.
Im sure chris rock did not think that far in about the slaves being abused by dogs or whatnot. Even if he did,how many people would have even known that? The show is ment to reach a large audience not just those who know their less known American history.
Great job Jennifer. I didnt go out looking for my staffie, but she found me and now I don't know how i could live without her. I Love you Thundercat!
Don't forget to give Jay Leno his just desserts, too, and not just Chris Rock. On that show, Leno's comment to Rock was, quote: " I know. It's amazing to me, you mistreat a dog and you lose your career and you go to jail for two years."
Jennifer is awesome ans so was Richard. He deserves a much better portrayal than Chris Rock could ever do. Richard was genius and apparently Rock is a dirtbag.
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